Vehicle-wheel.



7 No. 689,399. Patented nec. lo, |901. w. F. ELLls a e. c. nAvls.

VEHICLE WHEEL. l

(Application led Feb. 15, 1901.;

(l0 Nudel.)

lilik UNITED STATES PATENT WILLIAM E ELLIS AND EDWIN C. DAVIS, OEY SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSICNORS TO THE DAVIS TIRE COMPANY, OE SPRINGFIELD, MASSA- vVCIIUSETTS, A CORPORATION OE MAINE.

VEHICLE-WH EEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,399, vdated December 10, 1901.

Animation filed February 15. 1901. semina. 47.434.. momma.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatzwe, WILLIAM F. ELLIS and EDWIN C. DAVIS, .citizensof the United States, and residents of Springfield, `in the 3 county of Hampden'and State of Massachu-' setts, have invented a new and usefulVehiole ,Wheel, of ,which the following is a speciiication.

Our invention relates to improvements inv wheels-for bicycles, motor and other car-v riages, and the like, in ywhich a practically iniexible channeled rim supporting a yielding tire either with or without a leather rim-covering interposed between the two is provided with a shield held'in'place by certain fastenings peculiarly adapted for the purpose both Of'securingsaid shield and the spokes and also vprovided with a tightening device; and the objects of our improvement are,first, to furnish a wheel with easily-manipulated fastenings for the spokes, whereby they can be readily and quickly assembled and replaced when broken, said fastenings also serving to bind the Vshield firmly to the rim for the protection of the interposed soft or yielding parts and to conceal the joint formed by said parts or the laced edges thereof; second, to provide ymeans for drawing together the ends of the rim after it has been sprung onto the shield or other concentric member, thus rendering the parts circumferentially tight, and, third, to produce a strong and durable wheel that is serviceable in'every' particular, rigid in construction, and free from rattling or undue vibration. We attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Y j I Figure 1 is a reduced side view of a section of our wheel; Fig. 2,.a full-size cross-section Fig. 3, a cross-section of the rim and tire,

showing a leather cover and an extended shield; Fig. 4, a longitudinal section'of a portion of the rim and tire Withcertain of the fastening devices and attached rvmembers in place; Fig. 5, a plan view of the tire-fasteningwasher; Fig. 6, a bottom view of the tireof the rim and tire,'showing our spoke-fas-v tening-collar; Fig. 8, a side view of the fastening-sleeve; Fig. ,9, a perspective view of thetightening device, showing it attached to sections of a rim; and Fig. 10, also aperspective View of said device,^but' exhibiting more of an end viewlof the same.

Similar characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views. y

Our wheel consists inthe main of the hub 15, thespokes 16, connecting the channeled rim 17 with said hub, the shield18, the tire 19, and certain fastening and tightening devices, all of which will now be describedfin detail. The hub 15 may be of any ordinary construction, and ,the spokes 16 have commonshouldered heads to engage with said hub and threaded ends adjacent to the rim 17. Y Said rim preferably consists of wood convex toward the hub 15 and has a concave periphery, the outer edges being rounded over. .The rubber tire 19 is madeup with a solid per ripheral portion and thin side flaps to embrace the rim 15, a lining 2O of heavy fabric, as duck, being attached on the inside of said tire, and consequently contiguous with said rim. The presence of this lining is not imperative,however. The construction above described leaves the annular chamber 21 between the rim and tire, and the elastic band The band preferably consists of a v laced at 19?L and said lining cemented tosaijd j i;

tire, and'owe cover the joint so formed with the metallic shield 1S, which serves to pro-v tect the rubber parts adjacent to the spoke. fastenings, as well as to conceal the afore'-, said lacing and joint. n

For heavy vehicle-wheels the shield 18a may be employed, which is simply an extended form of the shield 18, havingthe wires 23 23 embraced by its overturned edges, said wires being located at the junction of the solid portion of the tire 19 with its flaps. The shield 1Sa protects the thinyportions of thc tire, and-the wires 23, located as specified,

5o fastening socket Fig. 7 a top View of the fasmaterially 'strengthen said tire and add to its Ioc,

durability. Furthermore,it has been found desirable in wheels of this class to add the leather covering 2-t,whicl1 is shrunk onto the rim 17, the lining 20 being outside of the same. The covering 24 can be used, of course, with either the shield 1S or 18, and it is obvious that more than one leather covering may be employed-that is, a second one can be placed over the first.

The spoke-fastening consists of the elongated washer 25, having a hole 25", through which the exteriorly threaded socket 26 passes, the collar 27, interiorly threaded to engage said socket, and the sleeve 2S, interiorly threaded to engage the threaded end of a spoke 16. Two sides of the socket 26 are flattened to correspond with the straight edges of t-he elongated hole 25a in the washer 25, so that said socket cannot turn in said washer. The socket is provided with a head 26, which bears on the washer beneath the band 22, the body of said socket passing through suitable holes in the rim and shield to receive the collar 27. The tightening of the collar on the socket, which secures the shield firmly in place, is made possible of accom plishment by the inability of said socket to turn, owing to the fact that the washer now forced against the rim lies along the channel therein and cannot itself be turned.

The collar 27 has a shouldered base 27L to receive thesleeve-head 28, said sleeve turning freely in said collar. In order to re,.- move a broken spoke, for example, unscrew the threaded end from the sleeve-and remove the other end from the hub, then insert a new spoke in the hub, remove the collar and attached sleeve from the socket, push the latter into the chamber 2l against the resiliency of the band 22 after attaching the sleeve to the new spoke, swing the collar into place beneath the socket,which the band now presses into the collar, and screw the latter tight against the shield again, the sleeve being once more turned, if necessary, for final adjustment of the parts. The socket and collar are preferably provided with lefthand threads and the sleeve with right-hand threads. The socket is pierced longitudinally, and its base necessarily clears the head of the sleeve in the collar when the latter is screwed up.

In order to draw the severed ends of the rim 17 together and tighten the same, we provide the rack 29 and pinion 30, fast on the end of the spindle 31, one terminal of said rack playing through the bridge 32, fast to the inside walls of said rim at one side of the break therein, and the opposite terminal secured to the lug 33, fast to one of the inside walls of said rim the other side of said break. The spindle 31 extends through the center of the rim and is threaded to receive the set-nut 34. After tightening the rim through the medium of the rack and pinion the set-nut is firmly seated to prevent the turning of the spindle in the direction opposite tothat required to actuate the rack or for the loosening of said rim. The head of the spindle 31 is upset beyond the bridge 32 and the washer 35 interposed between said upset head and bridge for the purpose of holding said spindle in position and to facilitate turning the same.

Any suitable resilient means may be'substituted for the elastic band 22 to press on the socket 26.

We are aware that other spoke-fastening and rim-tightenn g devices have been applied to vehicle-wheels before and do not seek to claim such devices broadly; but

What we do claim as our invention, and de lsire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a Vehicle-wheel, of a substantially in flexible rim, a concentric interior shield of the same general contour as the adjacent surface of said rim, and a tire secured directly to said rim by infolding.' flaps introduced between the same and said shield, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, in a vehicle-wheel, of a substantially iniiexible rim, a concentric interior shield of the same general contour as the adjacent surface of said rim, a tire secured directly to said rim by infolding flaps introduced between the saine and said shield', and stiening means at the edges of said shield, contiguous with said tire at the j unction of the iiaps and solid portion thereof, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination,.in a vehicle-wheel, of a substantially inflexible rim, a tire secured thereto by flaps, a shield adapted to cover and protect said aps, a threaded member piercing said rim and shield, and a collar adapted to engage said member and force said shield against said fiaps, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, in a vehicle-wheel, of a channeled rim covered with leather, a flexible tire secured thereto by aps, and a shield adapted to cover and protect said flaps, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, in a vehiclewheel,-of a channeled rim covered with leather, a flexible tire secured thereto by flaps, and a shield adapted to cover and protect said iiaps, said shield having reinforced edges contiguous with said tire at the junction of the flaps and solid portion, substantially as set forth.

6. In combination, a channeled rim, a dexible tire secured thereto'by iiaps, and a shield held in place about said flaps by a spoke-fastening comprising a non-r0tarysocket extending through said rim, a collar threaded thereto, and a threaded spoke-sleeve loosely held by said collar, substantially as set forth;

7. In combination witha vehiclewvheel having a channeled rim, a spoke-fastening com-V prising a non-rotary'socket extending through said rim, resilient means in the rim-channel to normally thrust the base of said socket beyond the rim exterior, avcollar threaded to said socket, and a threaded spoke -sleeve loosely held by said collar, substantially as set forth.

IOO

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8. In combination with a vehicle-wheel having a channeled rim, a spoke-fastening consisting of a socketextending through said rim and iiattened, an elongated Washer in the rim-channel havinga hole adapted to receive a flattened part of said socket whereby the latter is prevented from turning,A a collar threaded to said socket, and a threaded spokesleeve loosely held lby said collar, substantially as set forth.

9. In combination with a vehicle-wheel having a channeled rim, a spoke-fastening consisting of a socket extending through Vsaid rim and attened, an elongated Washer in the rim-channel having a hole adapted to receive a llattened partof said socket whereby the latter lis prevented from turning, resilient means in said channel to normally thrust the base of said socket beyond the rim exterior, a collar threaded to said socket,and a threaded spoke-sleeve loosely held by said collar, substantially as set forth.

10. In combination, a channeled vehicle- Wheel rim, a flexible tire'secured thereto by iaps, a shield held in p'lace about said aps by spoke-fastenings comprising a socket in the rim, a collar threaded to said socket outside of said rim and a spoke-sleeve loosely held by said collar, means in the rim-channel to prevent said socket from turning, and means in said channel to normally thrust the base of the socket beyond the rim exterior, substantially as set forth.

l1. In combination with a vehicle-wheel havingr a severed channeled rim, a rack secured in the rim-channel at one side and eX- tending' across the break-being rigidly attached to one of the separated terminals, a pinion meshing with said rack, and means to rotate and hold said pinion, substantially as set forth.

12.` In combination with a vehicle-wheel having a severed channeled rim, a rack se- 

